After the Ball
by ariadne melody
Summary: Set in 2.7 "Masquerade", Stefan takes Elena home.


AN: Takes place in Season 2, during/after 2.7. Reviews are greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for reviews/comments/etc so far!

* * *

><p>Elena is incredibly grateful for the numbness that's come over her body. She can't feel the pain from the wounds, can barely feel the blood that's still trickling down her skin, and as for emotions? Those are pretty much gone. She can't feel anything. It's as if Bonnie's spell has provided some calming anesthesia for her body and soul.<p>

"How are you feeling?" Stefan's quiet voice somehow gets through to her and she glances at him, surprised they were already at her house. He must have driven like a speed demon.

"Numb," she answers honestly, her voice coming out thick and hoarse.

He nods, looking worried. "Maybe that's a good thing."

"Yeah."

Neither move from the car. Elena, honestly, isn't sure she'll be able to get upstairs to her room, let alone get past Jenna and Alaric. Jenna might be on painkillers and spacier than usual, but even she would notice the garish bloodstains on Elena's pale shirt. And a frantic Jenna on painkillers is not a Jenna Elena particularly wants or cares to see.

"Can I borrow your jacket?" she asks abruptly, starling Stefan out of his thoughts.

"Of course," he says, immediately taking it off and placing it around her shoulders. "I'm sorry, I should have-"

"No, no, it's just to cover my shirt," she explains as he rests his hands on her shoulders. She breathes a little easier at his touch, so relieved that it's Stefan she's with right now. "Help me to my room?"

He's out of the car in an instant, gingerly helps her out of the seat, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her. As they walk a dull pain shoots through her body and she grits her teeth against it, trying not to pay attention to it. Without a word Stefan stops them and scoops her into his arms, which Elena considers protesting on principle, but lacks the energy to do so. Her pride will just have to settle for being bruised along with the rest of her body. Instead, she nestles her head against his shoulder while he fumbles with opening the door and not jostling her too much. Amazingly, they don't encounter Jenna or Alaric as Stefan bounds up the stairs to her room.

Carefully, he sets her down on her bed, his jacket falling off of her while he switches on a light. His face darkens as he takes in her bloody clothing, the bruises on her neck, and the dull tone of her eyes. The feeling of helplessness, that he can't do anything but stand and watch, intensifies.

"Elena, how can I-"

"Band-aids in the bathroom," she sighs, waits for him to leave her side before struggling with her shirt. Probably not the greatest idea, since moving her arms hurts like hell, feels like a million nails are being pounded into her bones. She hisses in pain, tears springing to her eyes and curses Katherine for about the zillionth time.

Suddenly Stefan is by her side again, helping her with her shirt. While she's grateful he's there, his presence partially makes thing for difficult for her. She needs time alone, not just to deal with Katherine but to learn how to stand on her own again, to figure out why all of this is happening. To not let anyone- Jenna, Jeremy, Stefan- get hurt because of her selfish decisions.

His sharp inhale startles her and she tries to smile, to make a joke, anything to lighten the situation. "That bad?"

Stefan stares at her arm, her stomach, unable to answer with words. Instead he gently begins to daub at her wounds with ointment, trying desperately to physically heal her since he can't do anything else. Not that this will really help- she should probably see a doctor at the very least, really. He wonders, briefly, about whether he should feed her some blood, if only to make it easier for both of them to sleep tonight. Gently placing bandages over both wounds, he looks up and sees Elena's hand is tightly gripping her teddy bear and has to resist the urge to seize her other hand, unsure of how she would react to that.

Silently he moves to sit behind her to tend to her back. The blood has congealed, coating the back of her white bra and staining the material. Normally he wouldn't hesitate to remove her bra, but this isn't a normal time.

"It's fine," Elena murmurs to his unspoken question, either reading his mind or sensing from his fingers his hesitation.

Cleaning her back for some reason is more difficult. He keeps imagining how it normally is, smooth and bare beneath his fingertips when they lie sprawled against each other in bed. Elena's shoulders tense slightly whenever his hands leave her back, so he keeps one hand resting lightly on her shoulder.

"Done," he says and gently kisses her shoulder. With a sigh Elena gingerly leans back against him, relieved when he wraps his arms around her. She already knows he's going to stay the night, that he's either going to curl up on the window-seat to watch her or stay on the edge of the bed continuously checking her wounds, her breathing pattern. She wonders how many painkillers she'll have to take to retrieve the wonderful numb feeling. How many painkillers or sleeping pills it will take to sleep tonight.

"Elena," Stefan whispers into her ear. "If I gave you some blood- you would heal faster."

"I'll heal eventually."

"They're deep wounds. I tried, but..." he trails off, leaving unspoken the real reason, the selfish reason, that he has to do something to help her, that he needs to see her strong and whole again.

"Okay."

He doesn't comprehend at first. "What?"

Elena isn't really sure of what she's saying either, and okay, there is the very real possibility that she's either delirious or going crazy. "Okay. But... you need blood too," she shifts in his arms. "A little bit everyday, remember?"

"Elena-"

"Did you have any human blood today?"

"I-"

"I'll drink some of yours if you drink some of mine," Elena says, almost laughing at the statement. It must be the shock that's causing the bubbling hysteria that's threatening to erupt. Control right now isn't really an option, control is so far from what she's feeling that it's preposterous to think of.

"Just let me do this for you, Stefan," her voice is the softest whisper. "Let me help you."

From the way he looks at her she knows he'll give in to her insistence on this strange blood-shearing ritual. Odd that right now blood is the only way they can both help each other, she thinks, that sharing blood will help them, give her her strength back and give him more strength in himself. Odd and a bit gruesome.

She reaches with her good arm to touch his face, lightly touching his jaw before moving to gently outline his lips. Lying in his arms, she feels as languid and relaxed as she possibly can, considering her injuries and state of mind. A bit awkwardly, she moves the underside of her wrist to rest against Stefan's lips, waits for him, hoping that Stefan will know the greater meaning this action has, the love and possession. As he takes her wrist, he caresses it for a moment before gently biting it (is there such a thing as a gentle bite)? He drinks quickly, trying to bat away the grisly thought that this is how he should have cleaned her wounds earlier and pulls her wrist away from her mouth, careful not to take too much, aware of her physical condition, her emotional state. Elena's fingers slowly interweave with his as he bites his other wrist and holds it to her lips.

She feels completely ridiculous at first and dearly hopes that the door's locked, that Jeremy or Jenna won't happen to barge in right now, her half naked in Stefan's arms, her lips firmly attached to his wrist.

All the while his blood slowly courses down her throat.

After a moment Stefan pulls his wrist away, wipes the blood away from her lips. Then, though he knows he shouldn't, he leans down and kisses her, slowly at first, but of course it grows. Their tongues start battling and Stefan finds himself getting pulled down by Elena so his body is crushing hers. Her hands slide around to undo the buttons on his shirt, as if to protest the fact that he's fully clothed and she's been half-naked for a while now.

* * *

><p>"That probably wasn't a good idea," Elena murmurs against his chest.<p>

"Why not?" he asks lazily as he runs his hand through her hair, gently touching her now mostly-healed back.

"It'll just make things more difficult."

He really wants to point out that since the immediate danger- Katherine- is gone they could easily get back together and not worry about their relationship being the cause of someone's injury or death. He wants her back, he wants back the way things were. He's selfish that way.

While Elena's showering he dresses. There is absolutely no way in hell he's leaving her alone tonight, though he may have to settle for sitting on the front porch all night the way he used to. Actually, he's really kind of surprised none of the neighbors ever saw him - guy lurking around the Gilbert house at strange hours of the night.

As he gazes at the bathroom door he tries to think of what to say to Alaric about this night. Not that he blames the guy for Elena going to the Lockwoods'; hell, he knows better than anyone that trying to fight a determined Elena is pretty much a losing battle.

"Working on your x-ray vision?" Elena startles him and he jumps slightly. In her pajamas she looks younger, less scarred and haunted.

"You caught me."

"Are you trying to hone your powers in an attempt to see me naked?"

"I've already seen you naked. Numerous times. I don't need x-ray vision for that."

"True," she smiles slightly, shifts awkwardly. "Um, well, I take it you're staying here?"

He ducks his head. "If that's all right with you."

"Of course it it, Stefan," she yawns and waves her hand around. "Um, the bed's fine, if you want. Or the window-seat or the floor or whatever."

Nodding, he waits for her to crawl beneath the covers before hesitantly sitting on the corner of the bed, sitting far away from where her body lies.

He doesn't leave her side all night.


End file.
